Improvement in automatic gas-lighters



ZSheets-Sheetl. K. VOGEL. AUTOMATIC GASLIGHT'ER.

Patented May 30,1876.

2 Sheets-SheetZ. K. "VO'GEL' AUTOMATIC GAS LIGHTER.

N.PETERS, PHOTO-LITNOGRAFNER, WASHINGTON, D C,

lvlrnu STATES PATENT QFFICE,

KASIMIB VOGEL, OF OE IELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS.

V IMPROVEMENT |N AUTOMAT|C GAS-L|GHTERS.

Specification forming ater Letters Patent No. 178,2 1 1, dated May 30, 1876; application filed March 4, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, KASIMIR VOGEL, of Chelsea, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented anew and Improved Automatic Gas-Lighteiyawhich invention is fully set forth in the following speciof a cam which controls a mechanism for opening and closing the supply-cock, and alsoa mechanism for lighting the gas when the supply-cock has been opened, said cam being connected to a clock-movement, so that, by setting the clock, the time for lighting and extinguishing the gas can be adjusted in advance, and that a .person intending to leave his or her room, and to return at a certain hour in the evening-say, at nine -oclock can have the gas lighted automatically at five minutes before nine, fol-instance, and a per son before going to bed can set the cam to extinguish the gas automatically at any time without leaving his or her bed.

The mechanism for opening and closing the gas-cock consists of a drum, exposed to the action of a weight or spring, and carrying two disks, one of which connects by an eccentric wrist-pin with a lever; on the plug of the gas-oock, while the other disk has secured in its face two studs at different distances from its center, said studs being made to cooperate with a lever, the position of which is controlled by the gas lighting and extinthe minute-hand b. The hand-movement con-,

meets with a gearwheel mounted on an arbor,

the gas-cock is closed.

d, so that this arbor revolves once in twentyfour hours, while the hour-hand revolves, if the clock turns round, once in twelx e hours. On the arbor d is mounteda cam, e, which acts on a lever, f, that has its fulcrum on a pivot, g, and one end of which is pressed up against the circumference of the cam by a a spring. The high section of said cam joins its low section by an abrupt shoulder, h, and on the arbor dis secured an index, i, which travels over a secondary dial-plate, B", Fig. 1, and is adjusted opposite to the shoulder h, so that by means of this index the position of the cam a can always be observed without removing the face-plate of the clock. The

on an arbor, k, on the rear end of which is mounted a disk, I, which connects by an cecentric wrist-pin, 0, and a rod, D, with a lever, m, secured to the plug of the gas-cock E. On the front end of said arbor is is mounted a disk, a, in which are secured two studs, 1) 19 on opposite sides of the center of said disks, the stud 19 being somewhat nearer to said center than the stud 12.

When the lever f is in contact with the high section of the cam e its outer end is in such a position that it clears the outer stud 19, and that the inner stud 19 catches up against it. In this position the drum B and the disk Z are retained in such a manner that As the cam e revolves, and as soon as the inner end of the'lever f drops down over the shoulder hof said cam, the drum B is released and permitted to make one-half of a revolution, when it is caught and retained by the outer stud 11 catching up against the outer end of the lever f. By this motion of the drum the gas-cock is opened and the gas is lighted. When the cam e continues to revolve the inner end of the lever f is gradually forced out until it bears again on the high section of said cam, when its outer end clears the stud 12, and the drum is again permitted to make one-half of a revolution say, by adjusting the cam e on its arbor the gas may be lighted automatically at 6 p. m.- and extinguished at 6 a. m., or at any other given hour. By increasing the length of the high section of said cam, for instance to twothirds of the circumference of the cam, the gas would be kept burning only for eight hours, and the gas-cock would remain closed for sixteen hours, and, by making the cam 6 variable, it can be readily adjusted for any desired time. In some cases I propose to employ a cam which adjusts itself according to the varyinglength of day and night throughout the year, so that the gas will be lighted automatically at a certain given time after sunset and extinguished at a certain given time before sunrise; and, if desired, another variable cam may be used to regulate the time for lighting and extinguishing the gas according to the state of the moon. This selfadjusting cam, however, forms the subject of a difi'erent application for a patent, and I do not wish to gix e a full description of the same in this specification- The mechanism, as shown in the drawing,

can also be used with advantage in every house for lighting and extinguishing the gas at any given hour. For instance, if a person intends to go out -at, say, 5 p. m., and to return home at 9 p. m., and desires to find a light in the room, the cam e is adjusted by means of its index and the clock-moy elnent, 'so' that it will require four hours before the gas is lighted. Then the clock is set going at five oclock, and the gas will be lighted at nine oclock. In the same manner, the cam 0 can be adjusted, so that the gas will be shut off at a certain hour. If a person, before retiring, adjusts the cam e in the proper position, and then sets the clock going, the gas will be shut off at the'required moment.

The rod D, which connects the disk Z with the gas-cock, is made in sections, which slide on each other, so that the length of said rod can be adjusted .as required. In said rod is an oblong slot, q, which catches over the eccentric wrist-pin 0, so that the drum will require a certain momentum before said wristlighted.

pin imparts motion to the rod D and to the plug of the gas-cock. The object of this arrangement is to overcome the resistance of the plug, if the same should work hard.

The mechanism for lighting the gas may consist of a strip, 7', of paper or other material, whichyis gradually fed up near to the tip of the burner, and on which are secured drops of an explosive compound, at suitable distance apart. Whenever the gas-cock is opened one of these drops is exploded, and the gas is Instead of this mechanism, however, any other mechanism for lighting the gas automatically may be applied, such,for instance, as an electric apparatus, which could.

be connected with the gas-cock in such a manner that it will produce a spark whenever the gas-cock is opened. 1

When my apparatus is provided with a self-adjusting cam, it can be used with advantage for lighting and extinguishing the gas in street-lamps.

What I. claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with a gas-burner and its supply-cock, of a cam which controls a mechanism for opening and closing the supply'cock, and also a mechanism for lighting the gas when the supply-cock has been opened,

said cam being connected to a clock-movement, so that, by setting the clock, the time for lighting and extinguishing the gas can be adjusted substantially in the manner herein shown and described.

2. The combination, with a gas-burner and its gas-supply cock, and with a mechanism for lighting and extinguishing the gas, of a drum, B, disk n, studs 19 10, lever f, and cam c, said cam being connected to a clock-movement, substantially in. the manner herein set forth.

3. The combination, with a gas-cock, E, of a lever, m, and rod D, provided with an oblong slot, g, which engages with an eccentric' wrist-pin, 0, in a disk to which motion is imparted by a weight or spring, substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand andseal this 16th day of February, 1876.

KASIMIR VOGEL. [L. s.] Witnesses:

W. HAUFF, E. F. KASTENHUBER. 

